


Iced Coffee and Sippy Cups

by george_notfound



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (It's Not Ageplay At All But ao3's Tags For Agere Are Fucked), Age Regression/De-Aging, Also Did Anyone Catch The Pun In The Summary? Because I'm Very Funny, Alternate Universe - College/University, Crying, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, For The Record I'm Not Condoning Giving Four Year Olds Coffee, Gen, I wrote this entire thing in like three hours, It's MY Au And I Get To Pick The Majors, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not At All A Ship Fic They're Just Affectionate, Oh Also They're Roommates And Tubbo Is A Botany Major Because I Say So, Platonic Cuddling, Regressor!Tommy, Tubbo Takes Care Of Him, While Listening To The Undertale Main Theme On Loop, secret reveal, they're brothers your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:42:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29857563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/george_notfound/pseuds/george_notfound
Summary: When Tubbo walked into the dorm, the first thing he clocked was that Tommy was sitting on the floor, which was odd in and of itself. And his confusion only quadrupled when he saw that he seemed to be… coloring in a coloring book, humming a directionless melody around a- was that a pacifier in his mouth??Tommy doesn't react well to Tubbo discovering the little secret that he's been managing to hide since middle school. But it's okay, because Tubbo is there. And Tubbo makes everything better.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 34
Kudos: 241





	Iced Coffee and Sippy Cups

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> First thing's first, Tommy's regression is in no way sexual and this is not a ship fic. I don't even want people who ship the minors to interact, but I know I can't actually stop you. Just know that this fic isn't for you and that I don't like you. 
> 
> I'm a severely traumatized and mentally ill age regressor, and I know that regression is traumagenic like 9 times out of 10, but Tommy is not traumatized in this story because sshhhhhhh fuck that I want to have my unrealistic nice things. Oh, and also, there's one tiny mention of kink in here, but it's very small and and it's just a passing thought.
> 
> The premise of this fic was gifted to me by my friend Icarus (CrustyQTips) and was betaed by my other friend Dez, so huge shoutout to both of them! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Tubbo walked slowly as he chewed at the straw of his iced coffee. He didn’t even like iced coffee very much; he’d just been swept up in the excitement of unexpected free time, and had stopped by the university cafe on the way back from his now-canceled class, just because he could. He realized only afterwards that he didn’t care for the syrupy drink. He wasn’t going to throw it out, though. He had paid for it, after all, and it’s not like he had much money to throw around. And besides, Maybe Tommy would want it. 

Tommy.

His best friend still hadn’t replied to the text he’d sent him to tell him he was coming back to the dorm, but Tubbo wasn’t that surprised. He knew that Tommy didn’t have any classes right then, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t already busied himself with starting another little never-to-be-finished project or playing a video game or something, as he so often did. 

Tubbo smiled to himself, already picturing the enthusiasm and wide grin that would come from his friend when he realized that they had two unexpected hours to do whatever they wanted. Tommy had been asking him to hang out more that week, both of them frustrated by Tubbo’s workload. It was great to be living with him, of course, but Tubbo didn’t think that it really counted as quality time if it was spent trying to tune out Tommy’s complaints about his botany major so he could revise, while the other boy was avoiding his own classwork. 

He expected cheers from Tommy, maybe an arm thrown across his shoulders and a light noogie out of excitement before they decided what to do together. 

What he _hadn't_ been expecting, however, was… this. 

When Tubbo walked in, the first thing he clocked was that Tommy was sitting on the floor, which was odd in and of itself. And his confusion only quadrupled when he saw that he seemed to be… coloring in a coloring book, humming a directionless melody around a- was that a pacifier in his mouth?? 

He stood for a second, trying to figure out what on earth was happening, before snapping back and quickly closing the door behind him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he felt like it might be compromising for his best friend, and he wasn’t going to let it be broadcasted to the entire hall. 

Tommy looked up from the coloring book at the sound, his face splitting into an excited grin when he saw who it was.

“Tubbo!” Tommy exclaimed, letting the- yep, definitely a pacifier- fall out of his mouth as he spoke. “I’m colorin' a picture, d’you wanna see it?” His eyes were sparkling in a way that Tubbo had never seen before, and his tone was bright and unbothered in a way that felt almost… childish. 

“I- what?” Tubbo said eloquently, thoughts still lagging as his brain tried to process what he was seeing. He watched stupidly as Tommy’s hopeful expression fell slowly into confusion, before shifting into fear and shame as he seemed to realize something.

“Oh,” he mumbled, seemingly more to himself than to Tubbo, looking down. The innocent glee that Tubbo had heard in his voice was gone as he quickly snatched the pacifier off of the floor where it had dropped, curling his hand tightly around it like Tubbo hadn’t already seen. “Forgot that you’re not ‘sposta know.”

Tubbo was still confused. _Very_ confused. But all that was overridden when he saw Tommy’s cheeks flush red and his eyes well up with tears as he curled in on himself, replaced with nothing but the acute awareness that his best friend was hurting, and that it was his job to fix it.

“Hey, Tommy, no,” he said, taking a few steps forward and hurriedly dropping to his knees beside him. “Not supposed to know what? It’s okay Tommy, you don’t have to cry.” He rested a hand on his friend’s back comfortingly as the younger vigorously shook his head from where it was pressed into his knees. 

“No, you…” was all that Tubbo could make out before Tommy’s words became too muffled to understand. 

“Tommy, what’s going on?” Tubbo tried again, growing desperate as Tommy’s shaking turned into quiet sobs. “You have to tell me, please, I promise that I’m not going to be… mad, or anything like that,” he pleaded. “I… I just want to help you.”

Tommy let out a nearly animalistic whine and Tubbo panicked, terrified that he’d said something wrong. But before he could say anything, Tommy was suddenly crashing against him, clutching desperately at the fabric of his shirt as he cried miserably into Tubbo’s shoulder. Tubbo froze for only a moment before wrapping his arms around his friend, gently dragging him closer and shifting into a position that was more comfortable, considering the weird side-angle that they were sitting at. 

“Hey, you’re alright,” he said quietly, absently carding his fingers through the mess of blond curls tickling his cheek. “It’s alright, mate, you’re alright. I’ve got you.” Tommy only cried harder at that, but it didn’t worry him so much this time. It seemed as though it had shifted from bad crying into productive crying, and he was glad that he was letting it out. 

While he kept combing his fingers through Tommy’s hair and mumbling comforting nonsense, Tubbo let his mind wander back to speculating about the situation. He didn’t feel grossed out or anything, and he _definitely_ didn’t feel angry like Tommy seemed to think he would. He just felt confused. And worried. 

He had no idea why his best friend would have been coloring in a child’s coloring book while sucking on a pacifier alone in their dorm. He had the thought that he’d heard about some people… getting off on pretending to be kids, or at least acting like it, but he dismissed it right away. Tommy had been alone, and there had very clearly been nothing sexual happening when Tubbo walked in. 

And it wasn’t even just what Tommy had been _doing_. It was also how he was _acting_. The look on his face, the words he’d been using, the way he’d been saying them. Even the way he’d gone quiet and was currently gripping him like a lifeline; Tommy had always been good at effective communication when he was upset, and Tubbo had always been the touchy one in their friendship. 

He didn’t even pretend that he knew why (or how) it was happening or exactly how to handle the situation, but he found himself arriving at the same conclusion no matter how many times he thought it over; Tommy really was in the headspace of a child, at least in a lot of ways. Maybe a four-year-old if Tubbo’s experience with kids was anything to go by, although the neat and inside-the-lines coloring would be a counterargument to that, albeit a feeble one.

And Tubbo was going to take care of him, at least until Normal Tommy was back and he could drag some answers out of him (which he suspected would be no easy task). 

Tommy’s breathing started to slowly but steadily level out a few minutes after Tubbo came to his verdict, rattley sobs coming less and less frequently. He just continued to stroke his hair and offer unintelligible affirmations, letting him come all the way back to baseline before ceasing in his comfort. 

When he’d finally cried himself out and he let his grip on Tubbo’s shirt loosen, Tommy didn’t straighten back up like Tubbo had thought he would. Instead, he shuffled around weakly until he was laying down on the carpet and let his head fall into Tubbo’s lap, facing the coloring book that was still lying where it had been when he came in. Tubbo had the vague thought that the position might have felt awkward in another situation. But he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all; just relieved that he had calmed down. He laid his hand gently on Tommy’s side, rubbing his thumb lovingly over his ribs.

“Hey, Toms,” he said carefully, still firm in his mission of helping Tommy but feeling a bit at a loss as to how to carry it out. 

“‘Lo,” came Tommy’s hoarse reply. He felt him take a shaky breath. 

“I- um. How’re you feeling?” Tommy just shrugged, but Tubbo felt him tense up, curling in on himself a bit. 

“Hey, Tommy, it’s alright. I’m not… mad, or grossed out, or whatever you might be thinking. I’m just a bit confused, that’s all, I promise,” Tubbo was quick to reassure. Tommy hesitantly relaxed a bit, but not all the way, like he was still expecting the other shoe to drop. 

“... Really?” he asked, tone suspicious but almost painfully hopeful. Tubbo felt his breath knocked out of him for a second as he tried to remember the last time he’d heard his friend sound so vulnerable. 

“Yeah, I promise,” he repeated. Tommy didn’t say anything, but Tubbo could feel more tension drain out of him, both emotionally and physically. “Can I- I mean, would you mind if I asked you a few questions? You don’t have to answer any of them if you don’t want to, I won’t mind, I just… want to know more about what’s happening right now.”

Tommy shrugged again, seemingly too worn out (and hopefully confident that Tubbo wasn’t going to judge him) to care. “Yes.” Tubbo quietly took note of how childish he still sounded. 

“Okay, thank you. Um, you can correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re feeling… like a kid right now, yeah?” Tommy nodded, head still resting against Tubbo’s thighs. 

“Mhm”

“Alright. How old are you? I mean, how old are you feeling?”

“Four,” Tommy said quietly after a moment’s consideration. 

“Four, alright,” Tubbo echoed. “Does this… er. Does this happen a lot?”

Tommy nodded again, not providing a verbal answer this time. Tubbo felt a pang at that; this seemed like something significant in Tommy’s life, and he hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him. There was a little bit of a feeling of betrayal, but it was vastly overpowered by guilt that he hadn’t done enough to show Tommy that he’d never judge him for anything like this. He was supposed to be Tommy’s best friend. He pushed it aside, though. There was no time for self-pity.

“Alright, thank you. Last question, I think. What… Why is it happening? If you know, of course.” 

Tommy was quiet for a few seconds, seemingly thinking the question through. 

“Bein’ a grown up is hard. Scary,” he said eventually. “Easier to be a kid. Brain feels less loud. So sometimes it wants to be a kid.”

Tubbo didn’t know quite what to make of that, but it made at least some sense to him. It wasn’t like HE never wished that he could be a kid again, carefree and happy and enchanted by the world. He’d never actually gone back, though, not like this. He honestly didn’t think he could if he tried. But Tommy could, and that’s what they were focusing on. 

“Alright Toms, thank you for telling me.” There was a moment of silence as Tubbo paused to collect his thoughts and think of what to do next. “D’you wanna sit up? It’s okay if you don’t, but I think you might feel better if you have a bit to eat. Oh, and I have some iced coffee for you if you want it! It’s that sugary stuff that you like.” 

Tommy snuffled once before slowly sitting up and rubbing at the tear tracks drying on his cheeks.

“Coffee?” he said hopefully. Tubbo brightened a bit and nodded, leaning dangerously as he reached to grab it from the desk where he set it down. 

“Oh,” he said, abruptly pausing as he was about to hand him the plastic cup. “I, uh, chewed up the straw pretty bad. I’ll put it in a glass for you.” He moved to stand up and grab a cup from their ‘kitchenette’ (the corner of the room’s spare desk where the pair kept their pathetic collection of old, mismatched dishware), but Tommy’s hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve before he could get up. His cheeks flushed and he looked away, mumbling something completely incoherent. 

“I- sorry, what?” Tubbo asked dumbly. 

Instead of answering, Tommy got unsteadily up to his feet, walking the short distance to his wardrobe. Tubbo watched curiously as he moved a- strategically placed instead of messily thrown, Tubbo now realized- pile of clothes from the bottom to reveal a small, blue storage bin. Tommy didn’t bother putting the clothes back before padding back over to Tubbo and sitting back down. 

He still refused to make eye contact and the blush stayed fixed to his cheeks as he removed the lid of the box, revealing a small hoard of items, eclectic in aesthetic but bearing one common factor; they were all things that you’d find in a child’s room. Some of the items looked like they could belong to a two year old (pacifiers and a tiny lion-shaped comfort blanket), while a few looked like they were fit for a kid as old as eight (some hot wheels and even a few drugstore comics). 

Tubbo stared at the contents of the box until Tommy slammed the lid back on, shocked at how much there was and how well-cared-for it all seemed. Another wave of guilt hit him as he realized that this might be an even bigger part of Tommy’s life than he thought, which would mean that even more physical and mental effort must have gone into hiding it from him. He almost felt bad for stumbling upon the secret that he’d clearly been trying so hard to keep. Almost. 

He was brought back to reality as Tommy thrust a small, blue sippy cup towards him, still not looking at Tubbo’s face. Tubbo hadn’t even noticed that he’d taken anything out. He took the cup, a bit hesitant. 

“Do you, um. Want me to put the iced coffee in here?” he asked, making sure that he wasn’t misinterpreting. 

“Yes,” Tommy said, finally glancing up to gauge his friend’s reaction before looking away again. 

“Alright,” Tubbo replied simply. Tommy was clearly embarrassed to have even asked, and he didn’t want to make it into a bigger deal and risk upsetting him. Tommy looked a bit surprised at his casualness and easy acceptance as he unscrewed the lid of the sippy cup and awkwardly tried to figure out how to pour the drink in without getting it all over himself. He managed it though, and soon Tommy was sucking slowly at the nozzle of the cup as he worked quietly on his coloring from before, obviously soothed by the action. 

Tubbo watched as his best friend contentedly drank his coffee. He was relieved that Tommy didn’t seem to be even a little upset anymore, and was glad that this was finally out on the table for him to be open about after he’d obviously been hiding it for so long. But there was also a feeling of overwhelming fondness and protectiveness that Tubbo wouldn’t have predicted. It was a lot like how he felt when he saw his younger sisters happy and accomplishing the things that they were working hard for. He had considered Tommy to be a brother for years, but always as more of a peer than anything. And Tubbo loved that feeling and didn’t want to give it up. But it would be nice to feel like this sometimes, too. 

Hey, Tommy?” Tubbo said. He looked up at him owlishly. 

“Hm?” he hummed, removing the sippy cup from between his lips. 

“Love you.” Tommy grinned at him, and Tubbo was thrilled to see how similarly pure and childish it looked to the smile he’d been given when he first walked in, even though he was obviously much more tired. 

“Love you too,” he said, before lifting his cup back to his mouth and resuming work on his masterpiece. 

Tubbo still wasn’t completely clear on what was happening. He didn’t understand how it worked on a psychological level or why Tommy’s brain did such a seemingly weird and abnormal thing. He wasn’t sure what any of this would look like going forward or exactly how he could best support Tommy. 

But for now, his best friend was happy, and so was he. 

**Author's Note:**

> Aahhhh I hope you enjoyed it! I wrote it all in one three-hour sitting but I think it turned out well anyway! 
> 
> If this made you feel anything, please please leave a comment! I love longer comments but it doesn't matter if it's just a single sentence or even just a keysmash, I appreciate them all so so much and I reply to every one! 
> 
> And oh, I have an MCYT/DSMP age regression blog!! Come say hi to me over at [@mcytagere](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mcytagere)!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!!!


End file.
